Day 1 –December 27 – Depart USA to Egypt
Your flight includes meals, drinks, and in-flight entertainment for your journey.

Day 2 –December 28 – Arrival
Upon arrival at the airport we meet our guide and are immediately transported into Cairo, the capital of Egypt. We transfer to our hotel to settle in and start soaking up the atmosphere of this exciting city.

Day 3 –December 29 - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Valley Temple
Visit the pyramids of Giza (Cheops), Khefren, and Mycerinus. The pyramid of Cheops is the oldest, and only surviving, member of the Seven Wonders of the World. Continue to the Sphinx and the Valley Temple. We'll pause in our day's activities for a time of worship and reflection.  Finally, a visit to the world-renowned Egyptian Museum, with its treasures of King Tutankhamen and remains dating back some 3350 years. This evening, enjoy the Sound and Light Show at the Great Pyramid. 

Day 4 –December 30 – Luxor
Fly from Cairo to Luxor. Upon arrival, transfer to your Nile cruise ship, your “hotel” for the next three nights. Travel to West Bank of the Nile to visit the Necropolis of Thebes, the Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the Valley of the Kings, and the Valley of the Queens. It was during this period that the bondage and Exodus occurred.  Also visit the Temple of Luxor, which was founded in the reign of Amenhotep III, grandson of the pharaoh of the Exodus and the Avenue of the Sphinxes.  

Day 5 –December 31 – Karnak, Edfu
Today visit the Karnak Temple  (temple of the New Kingdom period) and the East Bank of the Nile. Karnak is a vast open air museum, the largest ancient religious site in the world, and second only to the pyramids in terms of visitors to Egypt.  The ancient name for Karnak means “The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places”, and the area was built over a 1300 year period. This afternoon we'll sail for Edfu.

Day 6 –January 1– Edfu, Aswan
Today travel by horse-drawn carriage to visit the 2000-year old Temple of Horus. This site was initially developed 1000 years before Abraham came to Egypt!  Considered by many to be the most well preserved cult temple in Egypt, the temple is second in size only to Karnak.  Next, sail north to Kom Ombo to see the Ptolomaic Temple built for Horus and Sobek. Imagine the sacred crocodiles that basked in the sun on the banks nearby!  Our day ends by sailing onward to Aswan.

Day 7 –January 2 –  Aswan
This morning, sail by felucca to view Elephantine Island and the elegant pink granite Agha Khan Mausoleum. Elephantine Island was a major trading post for various commodities, including ivory, and was at one time connected to the main land by a bridge.  Continue with visits to the Aswan High Dam, the granite quarries and the unfinished Obelisk, and Philae’s Temple of Isis. Containing 18 times the materials used to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the High Dam was considered a miracle of engineering when it was built in the 1960s. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for all of Egypt.  Disembark the cruise and transfer to the airport for your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.

Day 8 –January 3 - Memphis, Sakkara
Depart for Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt from 3000 – 2700 BC. Visit the Recumbent, a statue of Ramses II, and the 80-ton Alabaster Sphinx. Continue to Sakkara to view the Step Pyramid, the oldest in Egypt, and on to see the oasis of Fayoum and the ancient Yusef Canal (or Joseph's trench) which brought in water from the Nile.  Following this, return to Cairo and some leisure time for shopping.

Day 9 –January 4 - Alexandria
Depart on an excursion to Alexandria, the city that becomes a window into the dramatic past of Greek and Roman powers. Today it is a city of 5.5 million. The journey is via the fertile field of the Nile delta region, the biblical Land of Goshen. View the extensive agriculture attributed to the canals and the annual overflow of the Nile River. The most prominent feature of the city was the Lighthouse of Pharos, 93 feet high, one of the seven wonders of the world, erected during the time of Emperor Diocletian by his troops. The Greco-Roman Museum has displays of both Greek and Roman artifacts attesting to their ancient presence. It also boasts of having the world’s largest ancient coin collection. The city was the first to give civilization a library. Return to Cairo for dinner.

Day 10- January 5- Wadi el Natroun Tour
Our last day in Egypt highlights a visit to Wadi el Natroun. Wadi el Natroun is famous today as Egypt's most important Christian monastic center, a prime attraction for Christian religious tourists who come to the holy land. There is good reason for this as these monasteries at Wadi Natruon and the surrounding region constitute some of the earliest, if not the earliest, Christian monasteries in the world. While in Natroun, we will visit three beautiful monasteries with their famous icons, enjoy a short worship service together, and have the opportunity for an open discussion with the Egyptian monks regarding their religion and the many aspects that make up their religious life in Egypt.

Day 11 –January 6 - Home
Transfer to the airport for your departure.